


Ballad of Gales

by Aurya



Category: Hyrule Warriors
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-08
Updated: 2019-11-08
Packaged: 2021-02-01 03:07:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,293
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21349879
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aurya/pseuds/Aurya
Summary: While Link departs to investigate a new rift in time, Zelda and Impa are left to deal with a different threat - a wind mage who seeks to bring Ganon back from his recent demise.
Kudos: 5





	1. A Magical Interloper

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I -just- finished writing a close-to-canon Hyrule Warriors fic where I had to gloss over everything that wasn't crucial because Warriors gameplay doesn't work for novelization. Why am I writing another one?
> 
> Hah. Okay. I got into a conversation about Phantom Ganon recently and we got to talking theories about why he acts the way he does. He suggested that maybe it's the Era of Warriors' Ganondorf that created the phantom as a contingency plan, and they just chose the Era of the Great Sea appearance to fit with Tetra and Daphnes. So while I'm mulling over that, and looking on the wiki about Vaati (because I got into a mood about Vaati while I was writing Ripples), I notice that the Phantom Ganon from the Great Sea was reused in Four Swords Adventures (I've never played Four Swords Adventures).
> 
> And that gave me an idea I've just gotta make use of.
> 
> The downside is, since I'm not going on a What-If of Legend Mode's existing story, there's going to be a lot more ambiguity here, and I apologize for that. I don't have the patience to concoct an entire battle scenario. I encourage you to interpret the battle however you like, with the elements I mention.
> 
> Also, this fricker is going to be short. Like, this would be two scenarios in Legend Mode simultaneous/alternating with the middle pair of the Wind Waker chapter, so it's only going to be two chapters long. Maybe three if I decide to have it continue through to the reunification with Link, Lana, and Cia.

"Princess, what are you-?"

Zelda was on her way out of the castle courtyard when Impa caught up to her; Link had already departed to investigate the new disturbance between the eras, and the general was most concerned to find the princess meaning to depart Hyrule Castle.

"Lana has taken Cia's place as observer of the timeline," Zelda recalled. "It's impossible this event has escaped her notice. I must speak to her and see if she can determine the cause of this-"

"I'm afraid the sorceress is currently unavailable."

The voice from above had Impa whirling around in an instant. Standing upon the courtyard wall was a pale figure in a purple robe, looking down on them threateningly. Zelda didn't even hesitate; a Bow of Light manifested in her hands, and she took aim to loose a shining arrow at the intruder. It had barely begun to move before a sudden wind howled down; it failed to divert the path of her shot - a Light Arrow flew straight and true - but the projectile passed where he had been without striking anything, and another gale from the front gates had the princess turning to find him standing there.

There were no weapons on his person, but Zelda didn't dare to lower her guard; his skin was of a pale blue that spoke of unpleasant magic, and the cap upon his head was set with a shining jewel that seemed to exude threat.

Impa immediately made to stand between the princess and the interloper, her grip closed around the handle of her Giant Blade. "Of what do you speak?" she demanded.

"The sorceress in the Valley of Seers," the intruder replied. "That's who you were going to speak with, right?" His gaze turned to the princess. "She's occupied - with events in the Gerudo Desert. A bit disoriented, having lost the Triforce of Power to the phantom, but what kind of warrior lets a sneak attack stop them from trying?"

"Phantom?" Zelda demanded. "Who are you!?"

The interloper smirked. "I am Vaati, the wind mage. I've come to Hyrule hoping to find an ally in the Demon King."

Impa didn't let him get another word out; she drew her blade and swung, and Vaati leapt away, wind surging out around him from the motion. He landed on the bridge between the courtyard and Hyrule Field; yet Zelda promptly charged forward with rapier in hand, and he was left sidestepping her thrust far more narrowly before pushing her back with another gale.

Zelda refused to tumble, landing at Impa's side with her sword at the ready. "Ganondorf is long since fallen," she declared.

"Indeed he is, princess," Vaati confirmed. "Too little too late, I suppose. That's why I had my phantom attack the sorceress and take the Triforce of Power she was safekeeping. The phantom was able to tear through dimensions and bring forth islands on a great sea..." He chuckled, half-amused, and continued "....albeit without the sea upon they stand. And that was with just one piece."

The Triforce of Wisdom began to shine on the back of Zelda's hand.

"If I gather all three pieces, whose to say the dimensions can't be rent further - and the Demon King can't be brought back?"

Zelda made to strike him - but Vaati's wind whipped up around him once again, and he vanished into it. Then, as Zelda drew her weapon back, a darkness began to fester before her... and from it rose Zelda's own image, black as pitch.

_ "Phantoms - that's all I have at my disposal." _ Vaati's voice continued to echo around them as the dark Zelda brandished a rapier of her own. _"A phantom of the Demon King who threatened Hyrule, a phantom of the Dark Sorceress who coveted the hero - and now, a phantom of the Princess, to rule over my army of monsters."_

In the distance, Impa could see monsters approaching - small, scrawny creatures that brandished appropriately-sized spears - and cursed under her breath.

* * *

The dark Zelda was not nearly so much of a threat as the siege that followed; the monsters that attacked were immense in number, commanded by oversized brutes with clubs, and Manhandla Stalks had bombarded the castle with seeds before Impa and Zelda had managed to cut them down. It was an uphill struggle just keeping the field from being flooded before the soldiers of the Hyrulean Army were able to march to defend their home.

They found Vaati in the mountain keep once they had the opening to seek him out - and he seemed to be expecting them.

"It seems the stories are true," the wind mage praised. "The princess of Hyrule is unafraid to fight alongside her soldiers."

"I will not stand idly by when Hyrule is threatened!" Zelda proclaimed. "Sorceress, demon king, dark beast... I will take up arms all the same!"

She lunged forward, making to strike him with her rapier again; this time Vaati moved his hand forward, and storm winds seemed to gather in his palm, holding her blade away until he made to leap aside. The princess closed the distance before he could land, and he only narrowly avoided a direct blow, the thrust still clipping his sleeve.

"You will tell me!" she commanded. "What are the phantoms of which you spoke?"

Vaati smirked. "Your castle is poorly equipped to show you," he admitted. "And words alone fail to do them justice. If you want to know, come to the Valley of Seers." Winds began to whip up around him. "You have my word that I will tell you what you want to know..."

The earth began to tremor beneath Zelda's feet, and she stumbled back as the wind mage vanished into his twister.

"...should you survive to meet me there."

Zelda leapt aside, and from the earth four fanged maws, and then the steel-leaved bulb of a Manhandla.

* * *

The Poisonous Tree was far more trying a foe than Zelda had expected - when last she had fought one of these creatures, there had been three others at her sides rather than Impa alone - but in time, they had its defeat.

The Sheikah General turned to the princess, impaling her Giant Blade in the ground beside her. "Tell me you don't intend to heed that mage's instruction?" she demanded.

"If he wishes Ganondorf's return," Zelda proclaimed, "we cannot leave him to his devices. We must seek him out, and put an end to him."

Impa sighed, bowing her head. "...True enough, princess."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know why, but the Giant Bosses fought in the first three scenarios of Legend Mode really appeal to me. A selection of three bosses that are arguably recognizable from later Zelda games, but are also all bosses in the original Legend of Zelda. That's oddly satisfying.


	2. Phantoms Unmasked

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How exactly do you lift the mood of a guy who was vehemently determined not to watch a movie on the grounds that he knew he would hate it, decided to take the risk and watch it after he saw indicators that he might enjoy it, and then THREW AWAY THE DISC after reading about other peoples' misinterpretations made him hate it again?
> 
> Anyways, Giant Bosses to serve under Vaati. Argorok and the Imprisoned are not on the table because they didn't appear in a game with Vaati. Phantom Ganon, despite being my motivation, is also not on the table for reasons which will become clear in this chapter.  
Count the Dodongos: one in Prologue 1, one in Ocarina 2, one in Ganon 1, two in Cia 1, one in Linkle 5.  
Count the Ghomas: one in Prologue 3, one in Ganon 1, two in Cia 5, one in Waker 4.  
Count the Manhandlas: one in Prologue 4, one in Ganon 1, one in Cia 5, one in Waker 4.  
Count the Helmarocs: one in Waker 1, one in Waker 2.  
As I have two scenarios to give bosses to, I can pick two Giant Bosses to have Vaati sic on the princess, so I might as well pick the two with the fewest appearances

The sun was high in clear blue skies when Zelda, Impa, and a squadron of soldiers arrived at the Valley of Seers - a sharp contrast to the moonlight hidden by dark clouds to which they had arrived on both occasions they had fought Cia here. They were most concerned to find something ominous awaiting them just beyond the southernmost sanctum - two crystal balls, hovering in the air.

Remembering how they had first encountered the wind mage, Zelda's gaze went upward - and sure enough, he was standing there, atop a rock formation that divided the valley in half. "Vaati!"

Vaati only chuckled. "Go on, princess," he assured her. "We had a deal. You come to the Valley of Seers - far away from your castle, and its mighty bastion, and the abundance of soldiers who cannot accompany you elsewhere for fear of leaving their home undefended..."

Impa reacted, going for her Giant Blade. "You-!"

"...and I will reveal the phantoms of which I spoke," Vaati concluded; and he beckoned to the crystal balls with one hand.

Cautiously, Zelda approached one crystal with her rapier gripped in her right hand, and Impa kept her hand on her Giant Blade as she followed suit. Uncertain as to how this was to show her anything, the princess reached her left hand forward - and an image appeared within it.

_Lana stood in the temple ruins of the Valley of Seers, a crystal ball floating between her hands. A darkness began to advance upon her from behind; panic took hold of her as she realized the intruder too late, and she turned towards it only to be thrown back by an unforseen blade. A golden triangle rose from her hand as she reeled in the shadowy fog; it soared through the mist, and approached an armoured figure that seemed one with the darkness around it._

"What is that?" Zelda demanded as the image faded out, her gaze going up to Vaati.

"A phantom of the Demon King," Vaati replied, "given power by the lingering echoes of his spirit. I had it attack the sorceress and take the Triforce of Power... and then, to keep her occupied, I opened Gates of Souls in the faraway desert. Then I had the phantom use the Triforce of Power to rend the dimensions - in the hopes of luring the other two pieces to the first."

Impa started as she realized what had caused the rift in time. "Link!"

Vaati nodded. "A princess willing to fight on the front lines, and a hero who has chosen to serve her? I hoped to bring you both to the same place, that the phantom could take them both in one fell swoop. But your caution rather cut that plan short."

He beckoned to the other crystal ball; Zelda pulled her hand away from the first and approached the second, holding her hand to it as before - and another image appeared in it.

_The Temple of Souls still remained in its twisted form - yet it seemed different, shrouded by darkness. In the Sorceress' Room, a dark figure stood with glowing red eyes... and after a moment, a somewhat lighter figure approached, with unnaturally pale silver hair and one hand closed on a dark scepter. The mask and hat she had once worn were nowhere to be seen, leaving the glare upon her face for all to see._

"That's Cia!" Impa realized.

"I made a phantom of the sorceress' lingering spirit as well," Vaati mused, "but unlike the Demon King, she was not sealed away after her demise. When I created the phantom, it gave her a gateway to return to this world - yet she could not act against the phantom until the right key arrived..."

_The image changed; the Temple of Souls was illuminated properly, and charging in the front door were a swordsman in green and a sorceress in bright blue._

"...in the form of her other half."

_The armies between them and the Sorceress' Room were felled; and once they had a safe place, Lana held out her tome before her... and her mirror image manifested from a shining portal._

Zelda's gaze went up to the wind mage as she realized the implications of what had happened. "Does that mean that Ganondorf...?"

"The blade of evil's bane binds him true," Vaati proclaimed. "But his subconscious desires will drive the phantom to act, as long as I do not direct the phantom to act otherwise. The Demon King desires to return, just as I desire him to return. Which means that I can trust the phantom to seize the Triforce of Courage..."

He raised a hand at his side - and Miniblin and Big Blins began to march into view, prompting every Hyrulean soldier to ready his weapon.

"...and turn my undivided attention on taking the Triforce of Wisdom."

A twister ripped up around him, into which he vanished, and Zelda and Impa prepared to ward off the monsters approaching them.

* * *

Neither princess nor Sheikah was surprised when the Hyrulean Army fought its way through the Valley of Seers, and they found the wind mage standing atop the temple ruins.

"Well fought, princess," Vaati praised, turning around to face her. "The hero is worse off for lacking you at his side."

"You think Link will be defeated?" Zelda demanded. "You think a phantom of Ganon can do anything the real one failed to?"

Vaati chuckled. "One can only hope."

A surge of dark magic manifested behind him - a Gate of Souls - and Zelda and Impa both started as darkness began to flood out of it.

"I, on the other hand, cannot afford to leave things to hope or chance," Vaati proclaimed. The darkness was gathering above the temple. "I will have the Triforce of Wisdom - and I assume you will not be relinquishing it willingly. So I will take it by force - if I must take it from your corpse."

He vanished in yet another twister - and this one parted the darkness that had gathered to reveal a giant masked bird that _screeched_ down at Zelda and Impa.

"The mage is nothing but a coward," Impa growled as the bird made to land before them, "refusing to face us on our own."

"This is tactical," Zelda warned her. "He means to tire us before facing us himself!"

* * *

The Helmaroc King took more out of them chasing after it when it tried to flee than striking it down; once they had, they found Vaati standing before the Fairy Fountain, inviting them to seek him out. No sooner had they made to approach than he retreated into the cave; and as they arrived inside, Vaati turned to face them.

"Princess of Hyrule, bearer of the Triforce of Wisdom," he mused. "Yet you come at me after so many grueling struggles. Do you simply refuse to run from your fate? Or do you truly believe you can surpass me?"

He raised his hand, and wind surged forth; Zelda met the gale on her rapier, and with a surge of light, it was flung back. "You will fall, wind mage!" the princess proclaimed. "The Triforce will never be yours, I swear it!"

She lunged forward, and Vaati sidestepped; Impa made to bring her Giant Blade down upon his helm, and he flung her back with a ferocious gale. "Did you not show the Demon King this determination?" the wind mage demanded. "Or did he simply take the Triforce complete, all the same?"

An edge of wind surged forth, and Zelda leapt over the blow, a Bow of Light manifesting in her hands to fire a Light Arrow down towards him before she came down rapier-first and carved a shining X into the floor of the fountain. Vaati narrowly evaded the blow, but Impa took the opening while he was blinded by the light, striking him with a sharp kick before swinging her Giant Blade into what only just became a glancing blow.

"Ganondorf had allies from across the ages!" the Sheikah proclaimed, continuing to swing at him with enough ferocity that he couldn't escape their glances. "I see no allies of yours from the islands your phantom brought forth! Only beasts - beasts that we have already felled!"

Zelda's Bow of Light appeared again, this time with five Light Arrows nocked; Vaati leapt straight up to evade their spreading shot, but Impa only came up weapon-first, striking him to the floor of the fountain. Zelda promptly drove her rapier forth, and it glanced off the jewel in his cap - a powerful resonation echoed through the fountain as he recoiled, but Vaati retaliated with a fierce gale in all directions.

"Hollow words from those who face me without allies of their own," the wind mage observed; edges of wind lashed forward, leaving his opponents desperate to evade. "Did you not defeat the Demon King with the hero and the sorceress at your side?" Power began to well up around him. "Or would you have me believe you marched on him alone?"

His body became a silhouette, and the jewel upon his cap began to glow.

"We face one another as equals, princess - a ruler of a kingdom, and a ruler of the winds!"

Vaati's body towered before the silhouette faded out; he stood a head above the princess, in all-consuming robes that briefly seemed to have an eye upon his torso. From behind him emerged two black shadows, which opened to reveal eyes; when he moved his hands as he had to cast his winds, the gales seemed to rush forth from the eyes that floated at his sides.

Zelda evaded the first bombardment and thrust her rapier forth, striking at him with a flurry of blows the moment he gave her an opening; when Vaati forced her back with a hellish wind, Impa moved in and swung her Giant Blade to strike at the floating eyes. He rounded on her, unleashing a torrent of gales; Zelda only bathed her rapier in light, striking at him with an upward swing.

The blow missed most of his body when the wind mage evaded - but again did her edge glance off the jewel in his cap, a ringing permeating the air, and the eyes at his sides seemed to flicker out. Impa took the opening when she had it, driving her weapon into his back, and this time her blow hit true; Vaati was thrown across the battlefield, and the eyes vanished as he tried to right himself. Zelda charged forward and struck him once more; his body silhouetted again as he flew, and he slammed into the rim of the Great Fairy's fountain, reduced to his normal state once more.

He struggled to rise, visibly pained; for a moment, it seemed he was on his feet once more, and then he fell to his knees, one hand hitting the ground in an effort to support him. Impa sheathed her Giant Blade, though she kept her grip on the handle, and Zelda lowered her rapier with a sigh.

"This... changes nothing," Vaati defied. "My phantom will take the Triforce of Courage from the hero. And mark my words... he will then come for you! He will take the Triforce of Wisdom! The Demon King will return! _I will return!_"

"You will not," Zelda declared. "You have lost. And your phantom is soon to meet the same fate."

She turned away, meaning to close the Gate of Souls that had been opened in the temple ruins.

Vaati thrust his hand towards her, threatening gales rushing forth while the princess' back faced him.

Impa moved between the attack and their target, and Zelda turned in time to see Impa struck with a ferocious wind.

Too late did Vaati realize his mistake; as the blows struck Impa, she fell to the ground with a cry of pain, and Zelda's face contorted into a furious glare in an instant. In the same moment as Impa met the floor of the Fairy Fountain, a Bow of Light appeared in Zelda's hand, and she took aim before loosing a Light Arrow straight at Vaati.

It struck the jewel in the cap upon his head.

And then _continued into the opposite wall of the Fairy Fountain._

Vaati screamed as fairies began to rush out of the fountain, encircling him; the cap parted from his head, and the light consumed him.

When the fairies dispersed, the wind mage was gone.

Zelda let her bow fade and knelt at her general's side. "Impa!"

"I-I will be fine," Impa insisted, struggling to rise. "I was prepared for the blow."

The princess offered her hand, helping the Sheikah get to her feet; then the two advanced to the temple ruins, where Zelda used her royal magic to close the Gate of Souls. Once it had faded, they remained quiet for a moment, letting the sunlight wash over them.

"What are we to do now?" Impa asked.

"We return to Hyrule Castle," Zelda replied, "and await Link's return."

She started to depart the Valley of Seers, and Impa turned after her, confused. "But princess, the phantom-"

"Link _will_ defeat that phantom," Zelda proclaimed. "The Triforce of Power will return to Lana's safekeeping, and we can make things right."

Impa closed her eyes, and then made to follow the princess.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One-on-one battles are much more satisfying to write than Warriors gameplay. Even a Giant Boss fight doesn't quite have the same appeal as mano-a-mano combat.
> 
> I never understood why enemies never entered Focus Spirit. You'd think Young Link, at least, would put his mask on a couple times.  
Yes, that's what I'm trying to imply, here. If Vaati was playable in Hyrule Warriors, his Focus Spirit would have him go full Minish Cap boss fight. That being said, I think I'd make his weapon his hat, and give him versions based on three of his forms. The usual cap, of course, for Level 1; the Minish Cap manga gave him a nice crown for Vaati Reborn, maybe make that his Level 2; and maybe do something based on Vaati's Wrath for Level 3.


End file.
